This class we watched a few of the EdTech presentations that different groups have been working on. One that stood out to me was about using AI to assess student work. It got me thinking a lot about how AI could actually fit into teaching, especially when it comes to marking.

The group talked about how AI could make assessment more efficient by saving time and creating more consistency. I can see how that would be helpful, especially when teachers are marking a lot of assignments. I also think AI can be useful behind the scenes, like helping teachers create rubrics or assignment guidelines. For example, my group used AI to help build a rubric for our health assignment, which made the process a lot quicker and gave us a solid starting point to work from.

At the same time, I have mixed feelings about using AI for actually assessing student work. As a student, I’ve had moments where I wondered if feedback I received was AI-generated, and it didn’t feel very meaningful. It made the feedback feel less personal, like my work wasn’t really being read or understood. Because of that, I don’t think I would want to rely on AI for giving feedback or writing report card comments. Those parts of teaching feel important to keep personal and connected to the student.

I do think there are some situations where AI could be helpful, like marking multiple choice quizzes or helping organize assessment data. But in a subject like PHE, where a lot of learning is based on participation, discussion, and personal growth, it feels harder to rely on AI to capture that kind of learning in a meaningful way.

Another thing I kept thinking about is how assessment isn’t just about giving a mark, it also helps teachers understand where students are at. When teachers go through student work themselves, they can notice patterns, misunderstandings, or areas where students might need more support. If AI is doing that work, I think it could be harder to pick up on those details and use that information to plan next steps.

We also talked briefly about consent, and how students and parents would likely need to be informed if AI is being used for assessment. I think that’s really important, and I’d be curious to know how comfortable people actually feel about that. It also made me think about school policies, since expectations around AI use seem to vary depending on the setting.

I didn’t get a chance to ask questions during the presentation, but a couple I was thinking:

1. How do you make sure AI feedback still feels meaningful and personalized for students?

2. In what situations would you trust AI to support assessment, and when would you avoid using it?

Overall, this presentation made me realize that AI can definitely be a useful tool for supporting assessment, but I still think teachers play an important role in actually understanding and responding to student learning.